Russia, India might sign memorandum on Northern Sea Route this year, pilot voyage expected in 2027 - Russian first deputy PM

MOSCOW. Sept 9 (Interfax) - Russia and India might sign an intergovernmental memorandum on cooperation in the development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) before the end of this year, First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said in an interview with Interfax.

"India's geographical position and the role of marine shipping in its foreign trade increase the interest of this country and market participants in developing transit shipments using the NSR. These topics are being discussed within the context of the specialized working group of the Russian-Indian intergovernmental commission. One of the achieved results was the prepared intergovernmental memorandum on cooperation on the NSR, which we expect to sign before the end of the year," Manturov said ahead of the Innoprom. India trade fair.

"Next year we're prepared to arrange a joint pilot voyage along the NSR. This will be a symbolic event in the year of the 80th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries," he said.

Russian-Indian cargo traffic through the NSR could potentially reach 5 million tonnes per year, he said.

India's involvement in the NSR was the subject of negotiations at the meeting of the two countries' intergovernmental commission for trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation that was held in Moscow in August. Manturov said at the time that state corporation Rosatom was exploring possibilities for mutually beneficial cooperation in this area with Indian partners.

Earlier this summer Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev said that India and China are pledging to increase cargo transit through the NSR to 20 million tonnes by 2030. This would be a fifth of the approximately 100 million tonnes of traffic targeted for the development of this Arctic route by 2030.